I opened my Bible this morning and saw this verse: “Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices.” —(Psalm 16:9).

What a wonderful verse! I would love to live this day with my heart being glad and my whole being rejoicing!

But how?

I have been taught that when I see the word “therefore ” in Scripture that I am to ask, “What is it there for?”

Context is always key.

So, I read verse 8 above: “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”

Aha. Living like verse 9 describes is conditional.

I cannot be glad and rejoicing when my focus is on the troubles that may surround me….or the people who annoy me….or the worries about what tomorrow holds…or the current state of my bank account.

True joy and gladness comes when I focus on the One who never changes (Hebrews 13:8).

How?

Focus on His Word like a laser beam.

Look up verses that apply to your situation. Write them down on index cards and post them all over your house. (If I am going through a particularly tough battle, I will tape a verse to my dashboard so I can read it when I am stopped at red lights or stuck in traffic).

Insert your name within the verses in order to personalize them. After all, the Bible is how Jesus reveals Himself to you. That is where you will always hear His voice most clearly.

Choose to place what God’s Word says above your feelings or what you can see. That is walking by faith and it pleases Him.

Listen to the Bible on CD or turn on some praise music, particularly the CDs that put Bible verses to music (such as the “Glory Revealed” series).

Praise Him for everything you can think of (starting with the extravagant, beautiful gift of your salvation).

As you “set the Lord always before you” in this way, you will become aware of His Presence. He is always with you (Mt. 28:20).

Jesus is Joy personified and He desires to give you His joy (John 17: 13).

He alone can make your heart truly sing with gladness, regardless of your circumstances.

Not only does He desire to fill you with His joy, He also is always willing to fill you with His very strength so that nothing and no one can shake you.

In the original language the word for shaken is “mowt” and it means: ‘to totter, to slip, to be overthrown, to be greatly shaken.”

Picture Jesus saying to you: “Because I am with you always and you are clinging to Me in faith, I will not let you slip. I will not let you be overthrown by your circumstances. There is no need to be greatly shaken.”

He is always and forever firmly on His Throne and in complete and total control. There is no need to fear. (Yes, you will feel fear. We are all human. However, we do not need to give in to that fear and allow it to control us).

Choose faith instead.

Is it easy? No.

But it is simple.

Faith or fear? You cannot operate in both at the same time.

Choose faith and watch to see the gladness and rejoicing that will follow.